Archive:Media Credit Lines within Articles
- Under discussion at http://forum.citizendium.org/index.php/topic,1263.0.html
Giving credit to real-named persons or entities in credit lines beneath images is an appropriate way to honor them as content providers and can serve as a very important incentive for high quality media contributions, usages without fees, and goodwill toward the project (see this photographer's views on the matter, for example). Accordingly, and to provide this, as well as to provide a standardized and consistent look to all CZ articles and to facilitate ease of enforcement of this and other media policies concurrently, all images and other media appearing in Citizendium articles should be credited to the image provider within the image caption within the article, with two occasional exceptions. How to credit media providers within articles, and the exceptions when you should not, are described below.
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Is it an image or a photo?
- Use "image" for non-photographic images
- Use "photo" for photographs
- Use "image" for public domain photos credited only to the provider
How to add the credit line
Follow the pattern in the examples. See how it appears in situ to the right.
Attribution
{{}}
{{Attribution-image|John Doe}}
Returns:Template:Attribution-image
{{}}
{{Attribution-photo|Jane Doe}}
Returns:Template:Attribution-photo
Creative Commons family
{{}}
{{CC-image|Jane Doe}}
Returns:Template:CC-image
To add credit lines, click on the 
on the image information template and add the code and credited party as in the directions below.
{{}}
{{CC-photo|organization.org}}
Returns:Template:CC-photo
{{}} - use in the rare instance the attribution is requested removed by the copyright holder
{{CC-anon-image}}
Returns:Template:CC-anon-image
{{}} - use in the rare instance the attribution is requested removed by the copyright holder
{{CC-anon-photo}}
Returns:Template:CC-anon-photo
Copyrighted stuff
{{}}
{{C-photo|John Doe}}
Returns:Template:C-photo
{{}}
{{C-image|Jane Doe}}
Returns:Template:C-image
{{}} - use if the copyright holder normally charges a fee but waives it
{{C-courtesy-photo|Associated Press}}
Returns:Template:C-courtesy-photo
{{}} - use if the copyright holder normally charges a fee but waives it
{{C-courtesy-image|photostock.com}}}
Returns:Template:C-courtesy-image
GNU family
{{}}
{{GNU-image|science.org}}
Returns:Template:GNU-image
{{}}
{{GNU-photo|Jane Doe}}
Returns:Template:GNU-photo
Public Domain
{{}}
{{PD-photo|John Doe / Acme Museum}}
Returns:Template:PD-photo
{{}} - use regardless of image type when credited only to the provider
{{PD-image|Acme Museum}}
Returns:Template:PD-image
{{}}
{{PD-anon-image}}}
Returns:Template:PD-anon-image
{{}}
{{PD-anon-photo}
Returns:Template:PD-anon-photo
{{}} - use if the provider normally charges a fee but waives it
{{PD-courtesy-image|Acme Library}}
Returns:Template:PD-courtesy-image
{{}} - use if the provider normally charges a fee but waives it
{{PD-courtesy-photo|Acme Museum}}
Returns:Template:PD-courtesy-photo
When the provenance cannot be ascertained
{{}} - Rarely used. Provenance uncertain, though we've tried; probably used under fair use.
{{?-photo|Acme Archives}}
Returns:Template:Fuzzy-photo
{{}} - Rarely used. Provenance uncertain, though we've tried; probably used under fair use.
{{Fuzzy-image|Zenith Archives}}
Returns:Template:?-image
Removal of credit lines for open content licensed media—how to opt out
Some open content licenses (for example the Creative Commons family of licenses) give the author the right to request removal of credit. Such requests should be made to the constabulary (in the future to media-assets@citizendium.org) who will keep a record of such requests. The requests will naturally be respected by Citizendium.
About crediting public domain media
How to credit providers of Public Domain media within image boxes depends upon the specific instance of it; all should be credited, although not always to a named person.
Images obtained from museums or other collections-holders, for example, should usually be credited to both the original author (unless unknown) and to the museum or other provider of the work. Crediting original authors provides readers with very useful information, and crediting providers is frequently a terms of use requirement—or a fully proper courtesy, irregardless—plus it provides various incentives to providers that are very beneficial to Citizendium.[2]
However, there are two exceptions to crediting specifically the provider of an instance of public domain media within articles.
- Authors of recent images released into the "Public Domain" should be assumed to not want credit within articles, as that may be a principle reason why they released their work into the Public Domain. Such media must still be credited to the author on the image description page.
- Instances of public domain media may sometimes have been acquired from a source that would lower the prestigiousness of CZ if credited within an image box within an article. To avoid this perception, these too may be credited simply {{}} within the article's image box. The source from which the image was acquired must irregardless be documented on the image description page and perhaps cited in a footnote.
Bear in mind that media by pseudonymous persons should still be avoided, barring unusual and rare circumstances.
Crediting media uploaded by CZ contributors
Citizendium contributors who upload their own photos should also be credited within the image caption, unless they opt out of this on the image's description page. Please keep CZ:Policy on Self-Promotion in mind when using your own photos—the choice of photos should be based upon quality and licensing alone, not upon the name of the photographer. Given this, it is not considered self-promotion to credit your own images within articles.
Alternate design plan?
Also see idea for Alternate design layout for credit lines.